Bulgarian retirement age 2026-2037: table and calculator
Enter your ЕГН to see the date you reach retirement age in Bulgaria and the insurance record needed. Tables for labour categories 3, 2 and 1, 2026-2037.
Your personal identification number (ЕГН) contains your date of birth and your sex, and they determine the exact day you reach retirement age. Enter your ЕГН in the calculator below and you will get that date, together with the insurance record (осигурителен стаж) that the law requires for the same year.
❓What is the retirement age in Bulgaria for 2026?
Work out your retirement date from your ЕГН
The calculator reads your date of birth and sex from the ЕГН and applies the conditions for the year in which you reach retirement age. It also shows the required insurance record, because age alone is not enough:
Calculator: when do I retire (third labour category)
The calculation is done entirely in your browser. Your ЕГН is not sent anywhere, is not stored and cannot be seen by us.
Age and insurance record are two separate conditions
How to read your date of birth from your ЕГН
Your ЕГН is a 10-digit number. The first six digits encode your date of birth in the format YYMMDD. Decoding it is simple:
| ЕГН digits | What they mean | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Digits 1-2 | The last two digits of the year | 68 = born in 1968 |
| Digits 3-4 | Month (01-12 for people born 1900-1999) | 03 = the month of March |
| Digits 5-6 | Day of birth | 15 = the 15th |
| Digit 9 (second to last) | Odd = woman, even = man | 2 = man |
Structure of the ЕГН: how to read the date of birth
A practical example: a ЕГН starting with 6803 15 means born on 15 March 1968.
Born after 2000?
Retirement age table 2026-2037 (third labour category)
The retirement age and the required insurance record rise every year in the steps written in Art. 68 of the Social Security Code. The insurance record stops growing earlier than the age: at 37 years for women and 40 years for men:
| Year | Women: age | Women: insurance record | Men: age | Men: insurance record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 62 years 6 months | 36 years 10 months | 64 years 9 months | 39 years 10 months |
| 2027 | 62 years 8 months | 37 years | 64 years 10 months | 40 years |
| 2028 | 62 years 10 months | 37 years | 64 years 11 months | 40 years |
| 2029 | 63 years | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2030 | 63 years 3 months | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2031 | 63 years 6 months | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2032 | 63 years 9 months | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2033 | 64 years | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2034 | 64 years 3 months | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2035 | 64 years 6 months | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2036 | 64 years 9 months | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
| 2037 | 65 years | 37 years | 65 years | 40 years |
Retirement age and required insurance record by year, third labour category (Art. 68(1) and (2) КСО)
Social Security Code (КСО)
Art. 68(2)
That is why from 2027 onwards the required insurance record no longer changes, while the age continues to rise.
Official Bulgarian text
„От 31 декември 2016 г. осигурителният стаж по ал. 1 се увеличава от първия ден на всяка следваща календарна година с по 2 месеца до достигане на осигурителен стаж 37 години за жените и 40 години за мъжете.“
2029
Year in which men reach 65
Source: Art. 68(1), item 2 КСО
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
If you retire after 2037
The table goes up to 2037 because that is as far as the law writes out specific steps. For later years the age is not fixed in advance:
Social Security Code (КСО)
Art. 68(5)
If you were born after 1972, the calculator shows 65 years, but that is today’s level, not a guaranteed future age.
Official Bulgarian text
„След 31 декември 2037 г. възрастта по ал. 1 се обвързва с нарастването на средната продължителност на живота.“
Conditions with an incomplete insurance record
If you do not have the insurance record needed for a pension under the general rule, Art. 68(3) of the КСО sets separate conditions. The result depends on your actual record:
Options with an incomplete record
Choose your situation
You retire at 67 with a minimum of 15 years of actual insurance record
The amount is calculated separately, according to the record and income
You have no right to a contributory pension with under 15 years of record
You may be entitled to a social pension
Social Security Code (КСО)
Art. 68(3)
The step of 2 months a year has already reached the ceiling of 67 years.
Official Bulgarian text
„В случай че лицата нямат право на пенсия по ал. 1 и 2, до 31 декември 2016 г. те придобиват право на пенсия при навършване на възраст 65 години и 10 месеца за жените и мъжете и най-малко 15 години действителен осигурителен стаж. От 31 декември 2016 г. възрастта се увеличава от първия ден на всяка следваща календарна година с по 2 месеца до достигане на 67-годишна възраст.“
Under 15 years of record? See the social pension
Early retirement: 1 year earlier
If you already have the required insurance record, you can ask for a pension up to a year before your age. The pension, however, is reduced, and for good:
Social Security Code (КСО)
Art. 68а(1)
The condition is that the insurance record is met. The age minus one year is not enough on its own.
Official Bulgarian text
„Лицата, които имат изискуемия осигурителен стаж по чл. 68, ал. 2, могат по тяхно желание да се пенсионират до една година по-рано от възрастта им по чл. 68, ал. 1. Пенсията се отпуска от датата на заявлението и се изплаща в намален размер пожизнено.“
Social Security Code (КСО)
Art. 70(14)
The size of the reduction is here, not in Art. 68а.
Official Bulgarian text
„Размерът на пенсията по чл. 68а се намалява с 0,4 на сто за всеки недостигащ на лицето месец до навършване на възрастта му по чл. 68, ал. 1.“
A lifetime reduction of the pension
Retirement under the first and second labour categories
People who work in hard or harmful conditions are entitled to a pension considerably earlier under Art. 69б of the КСО. There are three requirements at the same time: a certain length of service in the category, a certain age, and a sum of insurance record and age:
| Labour category | Women 2026 | Men 2026 | Additional condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third category (standard) | 62 years 6 months | 64 years 9 months | 36 years 10 months of total record for women; 39 years 10 months for men |
| Second labour category | 56 years 4 months | 59 years 6 months | 15 years of record in the second category and a sum of 94/100 points |
| First labour category | 51 years 4 months | 54 years 6 months | 10 years of record in the first category and a sum of 94/100 points |
Retirement age by labour category for 2026 (Art. 69б КСО)
Age is not the only condition
Ask Pravko and get an answer with citations from the law.
How to check your insurance record online
The date from the calculator is half the answer. The other half is the insurance record, and only the НОИ knows it. The check is free:
Check your insurance record and projected pension with the НОИ
The НОИ’s single portal for electronic services
Log in with your ЕГН and ПИК
A ПИК (personal identification code) issued by the НОИ, a ПИК issued by the National Revenue Agency (НАП), or a qualified electronic signature (КЕП). The check cannot be made with the ЕГН alone: the ЕГН is the identifier, the ПИК is the key.
Check the insurance periods and income reported
For periods after 31 December 1996 the НОИ uses the data in its information system. For older periods you may need an employment record book or insurance record book (трудова или осигурителна книжка) and other documents.
Check that all periods are insured
If a period is missing, compare the printout with your documents and ask the НОИ for instructions on how to certify it.
The detailed steps, the difference between a granted and a projected pension, and what to do if you do not have a ПИК are described in our guide to checking your pension by ЕГН and ПИК.
When to submit the pension application
Here is the costliest mistake in the whole procedure. The application has a time limit, and it is short:
2 months
from the date on which you acquire the right to a pension
If you submit within this time limit, the pension is granted from the date the right was acquired. If you submit later, it is granted from the date of submission and the months in between are lost for good.
Social Security Code (КСО)
Art. 94(1)
Official Bulgarian text
„Пенсиите и добавките към тях се отпускат от датата на придобиване на правото, ако заявлението с необходимите документи е подадено в 2-месечен срок от тази дата. Ако документите са подадени след изтичане на 2-месечния срок от придобиване на правото, пенсиите и добавките към тях се отпускат от датата на подаването им.“
The right to a pension itself does not disappear: you can submit the application years later. But the pension will run only forward, from the day of submission. The application is submitted to the НОИ, including online through eportal.nssi.bg.
Social Security Code (КСО)
Art. 98(1)
This is the general time limit. For an insurance record from an EU country or under an international treaty, the time limit is up to 1 month after all the necessary documents and data are received.
Official Bulgarian text
„Разпореждането се издава в срок до 4 месеца от подаването на заявлението или от получаването на необходимите документи и/или данни съгласно предвиденото в наредбата по чл. 106.“
Frequently asked questions
Can I check my insurance record without a ПИК? No: for an online check you need a ПИК from the НОИ or НАП, or a КЕП. Alternatively, you can visit an НОИ office in person with an ID card.
I have 15 years of record but I have not reached the required age. What do I do? You wait until you reach the required age. The insurance record does not expire: it stays valid however long you wait.
Will my pension be bigger if I work after retirement age? Additional insurance record can increase the pension. For working pensioners the НОИ carries out an annual recalculation of its own motion with the record after retirement. Income after retirement is included on application and only if the result is more favourable. See more in our article on the size of the pension with 15 years of employment record.
Why does the calculator give a date different from the one I expected? What counts is the age that applies in the calendar year in which you reach it, not this year’s. That is why someone born in December often falls into the next year and the next step in the table.
Pension rights when working abroad? Insurance record in EU countries is recognised when calculating the right to a pension in Bulgaria under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004. You submit the application to the insurance institution of your place of residence or to the institution of the last EU country whose legislation applied. The institutions exchange the data on the periods between themselves.
I have a ТЕЛК decision: do I retire earlier? It depends on the degree of disability and the labour category. A Territorial Expert Medical Commission (ТЕЛК) decision alone does not give a right to an earlier contributory pension: you must meet the conditions for a disability pension.
⚠️ Important
Pravko provides legal information, but it does not replace advice from a lawyer. For important legal matters, consult a licensed lawyer.
